Slow Cooker Winter Ratatouille with Goat Cheese Polenta #GIVEAWAY

This post is sponsored by Crock-It Lock-It, a universal crockpot carrier that allows you to transport your delicious slow cooked food without spills! As always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.

I didn’t call this blog Eats Well With Others for nothing.

As you might have guessed, I am a big sharer of food.

Some might even call me an oversharer. (But I’m not friends with those people anymore.)

Suffice it to say, it is a rare occasion that I venture into someone’s house without something edible to shove into their face upon my arrival.

Which is all well and good except that so many of the best things in life are not really travel-friendly.

Like, for example, anything made in the crockpot. The cover never fits on right, so the food sloshes out everywhere the second you pick it up, and it takes TWO HANDS to hold it, which means you’re going to have to carry the other five things that you’re bringing on your head.

Non-ideal. (I’ve tried.)

Buuuuttttt on the other hand, crockpot recipes tend to make enough to serve a small army with minimal effort, so they’re kind of perfect for big parties (cough Superbowl Parties cough), and unless you really love leftovers, it’s probably best to remember that sharing is caring.

Enter the Crock-It Lock-It, which is pretty much the solution to all of our slow cooked food transport problems. It’s kind of a one-size-fits-all strap for the crockpot that essentially prevents the crockpot lid from moving while also providing you with a handle to tote it around all fashionable-like. With the Crock-It Lock-It, you can take your crockpot anywhere you go – potlucks, picnics, parties, tailgating, wedding dress shopping (WHAT?! WE NEEDED FUEL!!) – the sky is the limit!

The folks over at Crock-It Lock-It are offering up a coupon code for all of my fabulous readers, so if you decide to purchase one, enter the code “EATSWELL” when you pay, and you will receive $5 off your order! In addition, they have also offered to let me GIVEAWAY a crock-it lock-it to one of my readers!! To enter, please leave a comment telling me what your favorite crockpot meal is. For an extra entry, like Crock-It Lock-It on Facebook and leave a separate comment telling me that you’ve done so. The giveaway will run until January 15th.

Now, if you’re stuck on what to make and tote around in your crockpot, have I got a stew for you!

This winter ratatouille is filled with a ton of rich slow cooked veggie flavor, as eggplant, kale, butternut squash, and potatoes are tossed with tomatoes and Italian seasoning, and allowed to simmer away for a whopping EIGHT HOURS. The smells that this will exude into your life all day long will rock your socks. And drive you a little crazy because you will be hungry for eight hours straight. It’s just the price you pay for deliciousness. I served it over a creamy goat cheese-infused polenta, though I think it would also be great tossed with pasta, rice, or any grain of your choice!

This is my submission to Week 10 of the 12 Weeks of Winter Squash!! Did you include winter squash in your life this week? If so, then link up!!

Ratatouille gets a wintry twist with the addition of seasonal vegetables. It simmers away in the slow cooker all day and is then served over creamy, rich goat cheese-infused polenta.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

For the ratatouille

2 large eggplants, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces

2 tbsp coarse salt, plus more to taste

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into ½-inch pieces

1 lb fingerling potatoes, quartered

1 bunch kale, stemmed and coarsely chopped

2 tbsp butter, divided

1 tbsp olive oil

2 medium red onions, halved and thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ cup all purpose flour

¼ cup tomato paste

28 oz whole peeled tomatoes

1 tbsp Italian seasoning

1 cup vegetable broth

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil

For the polenta

4 cups vegetable broth

2 cups water

1½ tsp salt

1½ cups polenta

4 oz goat cheese

freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Put the eggplant in a colander and sprinkle with the salt, tossing to combine. Let sit on a paper towel to drain for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the remaining vegetables. Grease the slow cooker with olive oil. Add the butternut squash, fingerling potatoes, and kale to to the slow cooker, tossing to combine.

Melt 1 tbsp butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add in the onions and garlic, along with a pinch of salt. Saute for 5-8 minutes, or until onions are tender. Add to the slow cooker.

In that same pot, melt 1 tbsp butter with 1 tbsp olive oil. Whisk in the flour and tomato paste. Stir constantly until flour combines with the paste. Slowly stir in the whole peeled tomatoes. Simmer, mashing the potatoes against the side of the pot, until mixture thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Stir in the Italian seasoning and vegetable broth. Add to the pot.

Rinse the eggplant of the salt and add to the slow cooker. Add in freshly ground black pepper and stir to combine. Cook on low for 8 hours, stirring halfway through.

Before serving, stir in the basil and remove from heat.

For the polenta, bring the vegetable broth and water to a boil. Stir in the salt. Slowly whisk the polenta into the boiling water and lower to a simmer. Simmer until polenta reaches desired consistency, stirring frequently, anywhere from 15-30 minutes. When polenta is done, stir in the goat cheese and black pepper.

Oh yum. That lid definitely sounds perfect for potlucks. I always bring salads because they are much more portable.. Or desserts. I have been meaning to try slow cooker oats once I get my hands on a slow cooker

Crock-it-Lock-it is brilliant! My fav dish for the crock pot is a sweet potato turkey chili.
We’ve been using our crock pot at least once a week lately. And these cold temps call for amazing dishes like this one!

I love using my small crockpot for making chickpeas. Just throw them in with water, turn it on low and go to sleep. In the morning they are ready for falafel, hummus, or other great recipes. No soaking required.

I got a nice big crock pot for Christmas where the lid can actually be secured for transport (the future is now!), but I’d love to have this for my smaller one. It’s the perfect size for making a ridiculous amount of cheese dip

I have never owned a crockpot so it is hard to say what my favorite recipe would be – maybe this one! Looks amazing – perfect for this weather… and a belated congratulations on your lab experiment! So nice when things work out.

Mmmmm ratatouille and polenta! Perfect wintry meal. That “crock-it-lock-it” sounds great. Most of the time my crockpot is just used for cooking dried beans, but split pea soup is another favourite thing to make in it

Nothing wrong with sharing food! I LOVE making Indian food in crockpot. I have a recipe from my mom for channa masala and I do it in the crockpot and it’s heavenly. I can’t wait to try it in a Crock it Lock it!!

I absolutely LOVE ratatouille! Never had it with goat cheese polenta but it sounds fabulous! Love it more that it’s done via slow cooker AND it can feed a small army. Score! Enjoy the rest of your week Joanne.

Oh! I could reeeeally use one of these! I’m always in charge of bringing food to get togethers and it’s such a pain transporting it. My new fav crockpot dish is butternut squash lasagna of all things! YUM

Hi Joanne! What a wonderful giveaway! So nice and generous of you to do this for everyone! I don’t own one yet ( sadly to admit) but I would love to get one and start using one since we always have parties around here, it would surely give me a hand in the kitchen! Funny, I never made ratatouille before, just the other day, my best friend made some and brought some over for me to try, and it was amazing! Thanks for a great recipe! Have a great recipe!
Warmly, Anna

Oh god this looks amazing!!! Can’t wait to use this recipe myself
I love my crock-pot so much, my favorite thing is plopping a modge podge of leftover veggies and meat in there and letting it do it’s thing!